Forever After All - Signed Paperback

He's stranded with his best friend. Is it a chance for love, or will a threat from his past steal their happy ending?

Jess Patton is blunt, but there’s one person who never bats an eye when she speaks her mind. When that same man rescues her from a bad blind date, her rapidly beating heart is impossible to ignore. Suddenly, she's second-guessing everything she knows about him.

After everything he’s seen and done, Lincoln North knows he doesn’t deserve a woman like Jess. Not only is she gorgeous, but she doesn’t play games, and being around her is as easy as breathing. She’s also the only woman who has ever made him wish he were a better man, so watching her try to find love with anyone but him might just be the death of him.

In a twist of fate Linc never saw coming, they wind up stranded together in a mountain cabin. As Jess starts to see Linc in a whole new light, he’s tempted to believe he might have a shot at happiness with her.

But Linc’s past is as dark as midnight, and it's waiting for him back at the ranch. Linc and Jess have more than a storm standing between them and their happily ever after. Will they weather it together, or will he be forced to push her away to keep her safe?

Forever After All is a sweet friends to more redemption romance and the sixth book in the Wolf Creek Ranch series.

Jess swirled the wedding mint in her orange punch with a spoon. “It’s not melting.”

“You have to stir it a lot,” Ben said, sloshing his own punch over the side of the cup.

“Come on. Remi will gripe at both of us if you get that orange punch on your church shirt.”

Ben shrugged, clearly unbothered by his mom’s wrath. “She gets all of my stains out.”

“That doesn’t mean it’s okay to mess up your clothes.”

Ben’s shoulders sank an inch. “I know. She’s tired a lot now.”

Jess looked for her friend over her shoulder. Remi was pregnant and was looking a little sluggish earlier, but there wasn’t any sign of her now.

Dozens of people filled the reception hall. Jess hadn’t attended a single wedding before the ranch opened their event venue. Now, she couldn’t go a month without getting an invitation to dress up and look classy.

Well, as classy as she could. You could dress up a pig, but it was still a pig.

Not that Jess cared. She preferred to spend her time in the stables, and she didn’t need to apologize for it.

“Where is your mom?” Jess asked Ben as she continued to scan the room.

Ben slurped loudly as he licked the punch-and-mint mixture off his spoon. “She went to get the present she left at home.”

“I could have gotten it for her.” Jess had been looking for an excuse to bow out of the event since she arrived. Sure, she was excited for her brother and Thea, but wedding parties weren’t her thing.

Her gaze drifted over Lincoln North and stilled. He wore a white dress shirt that contrasted with his darker skin, navy slacks, and his church boots. No sign of the cowboy hat she saw him wearing most days. He stood with his hands in his pockets while their friend, Colt, rattled on about something.

Nope. Not hanging around that tree. If she stared too much, everyone at the ranch would have them hitched. They were all coupled up, except for the older ones. Though she had a feeling Paul and Vera were heading toward the altar together, she couldn’t be sure. Those two were about as quiet as Jess and Linc.

That she could get behind. Everyone else thought marriage was the best thing since sliced bread. Jess was so far from marriage that the wedding bells hadn’t even been made yet, much less ringing.

“What are you waiting for?”

“What?” Jess asked, jerking her attention back to Ben.

He pointed at her punch cup. “Your drink is ready.”

Jess raised the concoction to her lips and drank. The foamy punch was thicker with the mint mixed in.

She licked her lips a few times, savoring the last of the flavor. “It’s not bad. I’ve had better.”

Ben’s eyes widened. “I love it.”

“I can tell. Did anyone give you a limit on those wedding mints?”

Jess wasn’t sold on the whole idea of kids. They probably weren’t in her future, considering she didn’t have a man in her life. Well, besides the wranglers at the ranch. Those men were definitely in her life, and thankfully, they all respected her.

That was all she wanted and all she could ask for. Respect.

“Dad just told me not to jump off of anything. I promised I wouldn’t.”

Jess took another sip of the punch. “Fair enough.”

She made the mistake of glancing out into the crowd again. Everyone was dancing with someone.

Here she was, hanging out at the kids’ table with Ben–the only man who had asked her to dance. The eight-year-old had tried to swing her around a little too much for her liking before she convinced him to have some punch with her.

Punch and wedding mints. It was actually pretty good. Who knew?

“You want to dance, Miss Jess? I bet Jacob would dance with you.”

Jess caught sight of the pre-teen from church and quickly shook her head. “No, thanks. I don’t like dancing.”

“You sure? I could ask Mr. Linc to dance with you.”

Now that was funny. Linc wouldn’t be caught dead dancing at a wedding reception. She glanced over at Linc as he snuck out the door.

Did that mean she could sneak out too? There was probably some rule of etiquette about how long to stay and hobnob at a party, but Jess didn’t know the first thing about fancy parties.
“I’m good. Really. Thanks for hanging out with me.”

“I don’t mind.” Ben squirmed in his chair and tapped his fingertips on the table.

“Why are you being so jittery?” Jess asked.

Ben looked around the room. “Can I go play with Jacob?”

Jess quirked a brow at him. “I’m not your babysitter. Go do whatever you want.”

Funny, the kid assumed she was the responsible party here. His mistake.

“But won’t you be lonely?”

Jess threw up her hands. “Okay. I’ll go hang out with other people too. Happy?”

“Yes.” Ben jumped up from his seat and ran off toward his friend.

Jess stood and brushed her hands down the front and sides of her dress. She loved the olive-green color, but it was a little too snug in a few places. Why had Remi insisted the tight-fitting dress was “the one?”

Never again. Jess would be shopping for comfort from now on.

She scanned the room, looking for anyone who didn’t seem to be coupled up or already involved in a private conversation.

Too bad Linc had already skipped out. He was the one she could always count on to be available, mostly because he was one of the only single wranglers left on the ranch.

It hadn’t bothered her before to be single. Now that she and Linc stuck out like sore thumbs, it was a little hard to ignore the implication that they should just do as others do.

They weren’t the “relationship” types. She and Linc did well as loners and didn’t need anyone. She liked knowing they were alike in that way. They could even be alone together most days and enjoy it.

Now, she was alone in a room full of people, and why did it suddenly seem like everyone was looking at her?

Mrs. Scott was making her way over, waving one hand in the air. The other was dragging a man in a suit behind her.

Oh no. Not another setup. Good grief, the woman was persistent.

“Jess!” Mrs. Scott pointed at the man trying to keep his feet beneath him as she pulled him along. “Meet Hanson.”

Hanson. Was that his first name? It would have helped if Jess had paid a little more attention the first four times Mrs. Scott had tried to set her up with him.

Hanson straightened his shoulders and fixed his surprised expression into a friendly smile. “Hi. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

Jess stuck out her hand before he got the bright idea to go in for a hug. “Hi.”

She wasn’t about to tell him it was nice to meet him too. The jury was still out on that.

Lying for the sake of being polite was overrated.

Hanson took her hand in his and gently shook it. “My aunt tells me you’ve lived here a long time.”

“Yep.” Not knowing what to say, she swirled her drink in the plastic cup. If he already knew she was a local, why did he want her to confirm it?

Mrs. Scott patted a hand on Hanson’s chest. “I’ll let you two get to know each other.” She gave Jess a wink before walking off like she was proud of a job well done.

Jess looked up at Hanson. He was at least six inches taller than her. His tawny hair was longer on the top and swept to one side. He had straight, white teeth.

He looked like a decent guy, but she’d always had trouble judging a person by looks alone. A handsome smile could hide an evil heart.

Great. Now he was looking at her like she was supposed to say something. Or respond?

“So, I’m new in town,” Hanson said. “My mom is getting older and needs more help now. Thankfully, I can work from anywhere. I’m an IT tech.”

“Oh, cool.”

So cool that she had no idea what he meant. If her computer issues involved anything more than turning it off and on again, she was out of her element.

“Can I get you a drink?” Hanson asked.

Jess lifted her minty punch. “Thanks, but I already have one.”

He held up his cup and studied it. “That looks different from mine.”

“It has a mint melted in it. Ben told me it was good. He was right.”

“Ben?”

Jess pointed to the kid doing the hokey-pokey with his little sister, Abby, on the dance floor.

“Ah. Sounds good.”

Hanson turned his attention back to her, and his friendly smile hadn’t faltered. Maybe he was a nice guy. They’d been talking for two whole minutes, and he hadn’t looked at her like she was horse manure on the bottom of his boot.

This guy wasn’t even wearing boots. Could she see herself with a man who wore shiny shoes?

She studied him one more time. His smile was even warmer now.

Okay. He probably deserved a chance.

“That’s nice of you to take care of your mom,” Jess said. “My mom is a narcissist, and I haven’t talked to her since I moved out five years ago.”

Hanson’s smile faltered then. “That’s terrible.”

Jess shrugged. “It is what it is.”

She’d stopped trying to win her mother’s love when she was still a kid. The woman was as mean as a snake, and the only way to escape her bite was to stay out of her sight.

And Jess intended to do just that for the rest of her life.

“What about your dad?” Hanson asked as his brows pinched together.

“He died. Murdered.”

Hanson jerked back, and his eyes widened. “Murdered?”

This was why she didn’t date. Her past was riddled with bullet holes and sad songs. It wasn’t exactly dinner talk.

All of her dating opportunities went just like this. Guy shows interest, Jess tells the truth and puts all the cards on the table, and guy runs away.

Lather, rinse, repeat.

And that was how Jess had remained very, very single her entire life.

Hanson scratched the back of his neck. “I’m sure you don’t want to talk about that right now. Would you like to dance instead?”

Well, surprise, surprise. This one wasn’t a scaredy cat. “Sure.”

Hanson offered her a hand, and she took it, following him to the open dance floor just as a slower love song started playing.

When his hand touched her waist, she tensed. Her instinct was to recoil from touch, but knowing they were dancing and preparing her mind for the contact lessened her reaction. Once she relaxed, the dance was actually kind of nice.

Hanson definitely liked cologne. With his chest at face level, she got a good whiff of the spicy scent.

“Listen, I know we just met, but would you be interested in going on a date with me?”

Jess shrugged. “Sure.”

She’d finally been asked out on a date by a seemingly-normal guy. Was this how dating was supposed to feel?

Hanson grinned. “How does Monday night sound?”

“Sounds great. I should warn you that my schedule will be extremely limited once the tourist season starts. I work six days a week. Sometimes on Sundays if necessary.”

“I understand. My job is kind of intrusive too.”

Intrusive? Did she say her job was intrusive? Because it wasn’t. She loved her job. She might have a house, but she basically lived in the barn.

The song ended, and Hanson looked over his shoulder. “Aunt Betty wants me to meet some of the ladies from her church group. Can I get your number?”

“Sure.” She rattled off the number, and he keyed it into his phone.

“I sent you a text so you could have my number too.”

“Thanks. My phone is at home. No pockets on this dress.” She slid her hands down the sides.

Hanson glanced at her dress. “I see that.”

Normally, she’d feel uncomfortable if a man looked at her, but Hanson’s gaze didn’t linger. That was refreshing.

He looked up with a smile. “It was nice meeting you. See you Monday.”

Jess waved. “Nice meeting you too.” She could finally speak the truth about that now.

Maybe dating wouldn’t be so bad after all, but it was better to be realistic. What were the chances her first real date would end up being “the one?”

Yes. First real date. She was twenty-two years old and completely new to the dating game.

It didn’t have to be scary, right?